Chapter 9 - Someone Was Watching Noah
Ethan arrived at Maya's apartment eleven minutes after she called.
He had never moved that quickly from downtown Manhattan in his life.
The photograph lay on the kitchen table.
Noah was in the living room watching an animated movie, unaware of the fear surrounding him.
Ethan picked up the photograph carefully.
“Who touched this?”
“Me. Lena. The courier.”
“Do you have the envelope?”
“Yes.”
Maya handed it over.
Ethan contacted his security director.
Within an hour, two former federal investigators were examining the package.
Maya paced.
“I want Noah out of the city.”
“I agree.”
She stopped.
“You do?”
“I have a property in Connecticut.”
“No.”
“Maya.”
“I am not moving into some Caldwell mansion.”
“Then choose somewhere else.”
She stared.
“You aren't going to argue?”
“This isn't about winning.”
The answer surprised her.
Eventually they decided Maya and Noah would stay temporarily at Lena's parents' home outside Beacon, New York.
Ethan wanted security nearby.
Maya agreed on the condition they remain unobtrusive.
That evening Ethan drove them himself.
Noah believed they were taking “an adventure trip.”
He spent most of the drive describing dinosaurs.
At one point, he fell asleep.
Maya sat quietly beside him in the back seat.
“You don't have to drive us.”
“Yes, I do.”
“You have employees.”
“I know.”
“You have a company currently attempting not to implode.”
“I know.”
She studied him.
“Why are you so calm?”
“I’m not.”
He glanced in the mirror.
“I’m terrified.”
Maya's expression softened.
“You hide it well.”
“I've had practice.”
At Lena's parents' farmhouse, Noah immediately became fascinated with chickens.
Actual chickens.
“City chickens!” he shouted.
“No,” Ethan said. “These are country pigeons.”
Maya stared at him.
“You are a terrible influence.”
Noah laughed.
For several hours, the threat felt distant.
Then Ethan's security team called.
The photograph had been printed at a pharmacy near Caldwell Meridian headquarters.
Security footage showed the person collecting it.
Daniel Mercer.
Ethan's stomach dropped.
He returned to Manhattan that night.
Daniel was waiting in his office.
“You think I sent it.”
“You picked up the photograph.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I was investigating who ordered it.”
Ethan stared.
“You expect me to believe that?”
Daniel handed him a receipt.
“The order was placed online using my employee account.”
“So?”
“I didn't place it.”
“Someone hacked you?”
“Someone wants you to think I’m responsible.”
Ethan's anger sharpened.
“Very convenient.”
Daniel nodded.
“I know.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because after what I already did four years ago, I knew exactly how this would look.”
“At least you're learning.”
Daniel accepted the insult.
“I checked access logs.”
He placed several pages down.
“The account was accessed from a company network terminal.”
“Which terminal?”
“Executive floor.”
Ethan frowned.
“That narrows it to thirty people.”
“Not exactly.”
Daniel pointed.
“The login occurred at 11:42 p.m.”
Security logs showed only four people had entered the floor after ten.
Ethan.
Daniel.
The night janitor.
And Victoria Hale.
Ethan stared at the name.
“Why was Victoria here?”
“She still has temporary access because of the Caldwell Foundation board.”
Ethan immediately called her.
Victoria answered.
“I wondered when you'd call.”
“Were you at my office Tuesday night?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I collected foundation documents.”
“Did you use Daniel's computer?”
“No.”
“Someone did.”
“And naturally you think it was me.”
“Someone photographed Noah.”
Victoria became silent.
“What?”
“A photograph was sent to Maya.”
“When?”
“Yesterday.”
“Was there a threat?”
“Not explicit.”
“Ethan, I did not do that.”
“Where were you at eleven forty-two?”
“In the executive lounge.”
“Alone?”
“No.”
“With whom?”
A pause.
“Your mother.”
Ethan closed his eyes.
“Why was my mother there?”
“Ask her.”
Margaret initially refused to explain.
Ethan drove to Greenwich anyway.
She finally admitted she had been searching Richard's archived office records.
“Why secretly?”
“Because I thought there might be more information.”
“About Maya?”
“About whoever leaked the file.”
“And?”
Margaret handed him a flash drive.
“I found transfers.”
Richard had made monthly payments to a private company called Armitage Consulting.
The payments continued for nearly a year after Noah's birth.
“What did Armitage do?”
Margaret shook her head.
“I don't know.”
Ethan's investigators quickly discovered the company no longer existed.
Its registered owner was Marcus Vale, a former private intelligence contractor.
He had worked for Richard.
More importantly, he had been the person who investigated Maya during her pregnancy.
Ethan stared at his photograph.
“Find him.”
It took two days.
Marcus Vale lived in Pennsylvania.
Ethan went with his security director.
Vale opened the door, saw Ethan, and immediately understood.
“You look like your father.”
“I hope not.”
Vale smiled faintly.
“What do you want?”
“Information.”
“Information costs money.”
“I know. My father paid you plenty.”
Vale's smile disappeared.
Ethan showed him the photograph sent to Maya.
“Did you take this?”
Vale examined it.
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Were you paid to follow Maya Bennett?”
“Years ago.”
“By my father?”
“Yes.”
“What was he looking for?”
“Anything useful.”
“For custody?”
“Initially.”
“What changed?”
Vale looked away.
“Your mother.”
Ethan wasn't surprised.
“What happened after the custody plan ended?”
“Richard gave me another assignment.”
“What?”
“Monitor Maya. Make sure she never contacted you.”
Ethan's jaw tightened.
“For how long?”
“About fourteen months.”
“Why stop?”
“Because Richard learned she moved to Boston temporarily.”
Maya had never mentioned Boston.
“What was she doing there?”
“I don't know.”
“Did you ever threaten her?”
“No.”
“Who has access to your files?”
Vale hesitated.
“My former partner.”
“Name.”
“Graham Pike.”
Ethan's security director stiffened.
Ethan noticed.
“You know him?”
“Yes.”
“From where?”
The director hesitated.
“Pike was hired by Caldwell Meridian six months ago.”
Ethan felt cold.
“What does he do?”
“Corporate intelligence.”
Someone inside Ethan's company had access to his father's surveillance material.
Someone who knew how to weaponize it.
When Ethan returned to New York, he ordered Pike's access suspended.
Too late.
Pike had vanished.
His company laptop was gone.
His apartment empty.
And inside his office, investigators found a handwritten list.
Maya Bennett.
Noah Bennett.
Victoria Hale.
Margaret Caldwell.
Daniel Mercer.
Five names.
Beside four were check marks.
May you like
Only Noah's name remained unchecked.
---
